On Tuesday, December 13th at 3:00 PM the Georgetown City Council will hold a workshop to examine progress made by the Lone Star Rail District.

The District aims to connect San Antonio to Georgetown, with points in between and points beyond. Passenger rail seems to be on everybody’s wish-list in Georgetown, and it’s an obvious necessity for a sustainable future with lighter energy consumption.

But it’s also in some jeopardy. The District came under a vicious attack from three members of the council during the fierce late-night budget deliberations in the August/September meetings, and five years of work and investment were almost destroyed by the stroke of a pen. So it’s important to show support and learn more about this long-range, hugely successful to-date project. more…

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Current city codes prohibit depositing grass clippings back onto our lawns, or adding any organic material. Mulching lawnmowers cutting the grass without a catcher, landscapers applying mulch, and gardeners applying compost are all breaking the law and could be subject to a $2,000 fine, EVERY DAY until the material is removed and taken to the landfill.

If you want to help change this join us at Council Council Chambers tomorrow evening, Tuesday, June 14th, at 6 pm. That’s on the corner of Seventh and Main Streets.

The mulching and composting prohibitons come from our city’s current Code of Ordinances, Sections 13.12.030 and 13.12.060. It’s a careless piece of legal drafting that just came to light because it’s about to be amended – but NOT in order to make things better. more…

On Tuesday , January 25th, the City Council will review proposed changes to the UDC that currently control how people work out of their homes. There are two main schools of thought – regulate or don’t regulate.

There are also two different geographic views: regard the Old Town Overlay District as a distinct area to be treated separately, OR treat it just like the rest of the town.

After several months’ worth of task-force discussion these two sides remain opposed. Council must decide, and if you care you should attend. Speak if possible, and email all Council members. more…

Coming for its first hearing with City Council on Tuesday, January 25th is a welcome amendment to the UDC that finally gives HARC the discretion to forbid the demolition of a historic property.

Certificate of Design Compliance for Demolitions.

Currently any historic structure may be moved or demolished 175 days after the Historic and Architectural Review Commission has denied approval for this to happen. Our current law provides for a “cooling off” period only. HARC can disapprove a petition to move or demolish a historic building but the applicant can return after 175 days with the same request, and HARC is forced then to approve it.

Here in Georgetown we have been enormously lucky to receive the benefit of top journalism coming from The Austin Bulldog. Thanks to publisher and editor Ken Martin, we have gained access to a lot of back-room maneuvers that our elected representatives would prefer to keep secret from us.

Some people may still be thinking that the only media fit to carry the news are newsprint and its new-fangled rival, the television screen. We know better at Old Towners of course – we know the Web carries the best journalism, and the best journalists publish on the Web because their corporate bosses aren’t supportive of journalism anymore (if they ever were).

So it’s an exciting time actually, not at all a dispiriting one, to see the fragmentation of the old media as publishers scurry around looking for ways to sell what’s left of their ethics for what’s left of the old-media advertising revenues.

Enough of my opinions. Ken Martin has plenty of his own, especially about the new media, and the old-school journalism, good as it ever was.

Several weeks ago Ken wrote a letter to Ben Trollinger, editor of the Williamson County Sun. It was never published, perhaps because it’s a “think piece,” perhaps because it cuts too close to the bone for the Sun. Who can say, but here it is for you to read. It’s been updated by several more of Ken’s scoops since this – but you know all about that because you subscribe to his Alert List, right? more…

We make no secret that we eagerly await the Williamson County Sun’s take on all this on Saturday, but credit where credit is due – the people with blogs and websites have scooped the newsprint people yet again. If only Mr. Sokolow would understand that being a blog doesn’t make it wrong if you’re telling the truth; and being a lawyer doesn’t make you right if you’re not.